Let’s face it, people aren’t typically promoted into supervisory roles because they demonstrate a natural talent for managing and developing others. They get promoted because they are trusted, hard workers, competent in their jobs – they are doers. The problem is, supervising and managing others is nothing like doing. It is a tough job…one of the toughest there is. It is also enriching, rewarding and vitally important. Yes, it will be hard, but recognizing that in advance and having the tools to deal with those challenges will certainly help.
Fortunately, being a good supervisor or manager can be learned. It requires a new set of behaviors and a new approach to dealing with people. Whether you are a novice supervisor or an experienced manager, don’t pretend to know everything. You don’t and you never will. The respected manager isn’t one who has all the answers, she’s one who is good at building respect and developing her team. Here are some ways to do that:
1. It’s Lonely – Get Used to It Congratulations on your promotion! It’s proof that you have performed well and are trusted by your leaders. But there’s a downside too. Your former peers are now your subordinates. Your former friends are now your employees. Alas, they will look differently toward you as you will toward them. None of us wants to give up those friendships but inevitably they will change. The faster you make the transition, the better.
2. Never Complain Down If Larry over in purchasing was a jerk before you were promoted, chances are he’s still a jerk. What’s different now is that it is no longer appropriate to air your feelings about him with your former peers. It will kill their morale and will do you no good. Save your complaints for your new peers at the managerial level. That said, your former peers will not recognize this and may seek your opinions and gossip – this is likely to be your first leadership test. Knowing that and preparing for how you will handle it in advance will make it easier for you to gently deflect those inquiries and move on to more work-related topics.
3. Feedback First, Final and Frequent Be committed to providing both formal and informal feedback. Of the four types of feedback (constructive, positive, insignificant and abusive), make it your goal to spend 80% on positive feedback, 20% on constructive feedback and throw the others away. New managers all too often mistakenly think that they can deliver effective, positive feedback via pro forma or insignificant statements. (“Great Job” is much less effective than “The way you handled that difficult situation is exactly what was needed.”) You’ll find providing some form of positive, behavior-reinforcing feedback every week will be your best management tool.
4. Bring Three Solutions Becoming an effective manager is as much about changing your own behaviors as it is about changing others. The knee-jerk reaction of new managers is to appear as if you have all of the answers. Try to avoid this mistake. When your employees come to you with a problem, ask them what they would recommend. If they give you one solution, challenge them to find two more. You don’t have to take their suggestions, but giving them a role in finding solutions breeds accountability and commitment.
5. Be Mindful of the Stories You Tell Yourself We all do it – we assess a situation or observe a behavior and we tell ourselves a story about why or how it occurred. Unfortunately, our stories are just our un-grounded assessments of what we observe. Be mindful of your storytelling and be committed to grounding your assumptions and assessments before taking action. Ask questions and be open to different interpretations of what you have observed. Until you do, it’s all in your head.
6. Listen Just as we have to get away from our own stories, we have to listen carefully to the assessments of others. Managers mistakenly think they have to have all of the answers. They don’t. They have to be dedicated to listening…listening for problems and possible solutions. It’s hard work and few do it very well, but the manager who masters the art of listening will garner the respect of his subordinates and will go far.
7. The Only Person You Can Change Is You Have you ever tried to change your mother, father, spouse or child? How’d that work out for you? The truth is, it’s impossible to change someone who doesn’t want to change. This is a vital lesson for managers. It is not your responsibility to change your employees – you can’t. What is your responsibility is to make sure they know what is expected of them, that they have the tools necessary to do the job, and are given the feedback and encouragement necessary to fuel a desired change. Whether they do or not is entirely up to them.
8. Be the Change You Seek There’s a Chinese proverb that a fish rots from the head down. Welcome to being a fish head. Here’s what that means: if you want to change your team’s dynamic, you have to be the change you want to see in others. Be it trust or accountability or creativity or commitment, if you want it from your employees, you must demonstrate it in all of your actions and interactions. If you expect it of others, be sure you are delivering it yourself.
Transitioning into a new leadership role is always challenging and the road will be rough at times, but that is all part of growth and development. Remember, you are moving from top performer to the bottom of the leadership ladder – and that can be daunting. But everyone starts somewhere and, soon enough, you will be well on your way to the top!
By Claudia St. John, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, President of Affinity HR Group, LLC and author of the amazon.com bestselling book, Transforming Teams – Tips for Improving Collaboration and Building Trust
